Batters assist teams in winning games, while bowlers are the ones who can win tournaments. It is true for most matches and is no different for the current WTC cycle.

There have been several fantastic bowling periods throughout the cycle, and here are the top five most significant bowling figures during the WTC cycle of 2021-23.

Ajaz Patel (New Zealand)- 10/119 vs India 

Ajaz Pate entered an elite group of Test cricketers when he took ten wickets in an innings against India at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. 

He often bothered the batters, finding their edges and stumps a season-high ten times. He single-handedly dismissed every Indian batter, finishing with figures of 10/119 and a return of 14/205, but it wasn’t enough to avoid a New Zealand defeat by 372 runs.

Only Anil Kumble and Jim Laker have taken all ten wickets in an inning before Ajaz Patel. 

Sajid Khan (Pakistan)- 8/42 vs Bangladesh

Sajid Khan, Pakistan’s off-spinner, produced a remarkable spell of 8/42 against Bangladesh in Dhaka to help his team to a memorable victory. 

Bangladesh suffered a stunning collapse in both innings of the Test, with Sajid Khan taking 8/42 in the first innings, bowling out the hosts for 87, and then in the follow-on, dismissing the Asian team for 205 runs on the stroke of the end of the fifth day and capturing a famous win that appeared improbable at one point.

Nathan Lyon (Australia)- 8/64 vs India

Nathan Lyon leads the 2021-2023 WTC cycle in wickets with 83, and one such stint that brought him to this position was his match-winning 8/64 at Indore, which handed Australia their lone win of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2022/23 contested in India.

The spin meister didn’t allow the hitters to settle and helped restrict the 4th innings goal to a realistic 76, which the Aussie batters passed with eight wickets in hand.

Matt Henry (New Zealand)- 7/23 vs South Africa

The first pacer on this list is New Zealand’s Matt Henry, who single-handedly destroyed the visiting South African team in the first Test match in Christchurch. 

He took seven wickets in the process, and his effect on the game didn’t stop there, as he came back to bat for 58 runs in the first innings and took two wickets in SA’s second batting knock to give the hosts a massive triumph by an inning and 276 runs. This was New Zealand’s fifth Test victory over South Africa and their first since 2004.

Keshav Maharaj (South Africa)- 7/32 vs Bangladesh

In the last innings of the Durban Test match in April 2022, Keshav Maharaj got seven wickets from Bangladesh hitters in only 60 balls. It was the most wickets taken in the opening 60 balls of a Test inning since 2002, and it helped the host thump a helpless Bangladeshi team for 53 runs in the second innings, resulting in a big 220-run triumph.

This was Maharaj’s eighth five-wicket haul in Tests, and he backed it up with another seven-wicket haul in the next game at Port Elizabeth.